1 82 BRITISH BIRDS, WITH THEIR NESTS AND EGGS 



Family ALA 



THE CRESTED LARK. 



Alauda cristata, LINN. 



RESIDENT in Central and Southern Europe, its northern range extending 

 up to 60 N. lat. in Russia and Sweden ; North Africa, southwards to 

 Senegambia and the Niger on the west coast, and from Abyssinia eastwards, 

 through Arabia and India, to North China. 



To Great Britain this species appears to be a rare straggler : most examples 

 have been obtained in Cornwall, one in summer and the four others in autumn 

 and winter ; one is said to have been caught in the Isle of Wight, and two have 

 been obtained in Sussex. The statements that one has been taken from a 

 nest in the Isle of Wight, and that it has occurred in Ireland, require veri- 

 fication.* It is also reported from Blackheath and Macclesfield. 



There are many slight climatic modifications of this Lark, all of which 

 have been regarded either as species or subspecies. The typical form has the 

 upper parts greyish brown, with darker centres to the feathers, excepting on 

 the rump and upper tail-coverts, which are sandy brown ; the long pointed 

 crest has the centres of the feathers darker than elsewhere ; the bastard 

 primary is large ; the tail-feathers are dark brown, with greyish margins, 

 excepting the outermost feather which is pale brown with buff outer web, and 

 the second feather which has a sandy buff margin to the outer web ; the 

 superciliary stripe is broad, extending far backwards from above the eye, and 

 is buffish white ; the under parts are principally buffish white, deeper on the 

 flanks and thighs ; sides of throat spotted with blackish brown ; breast spotted 

 and streaked with dark brown ; flanks slightly streaked , bill brown, under 

 mandible paler ; feet fleshy horn brown ; iris hazel. The female has a shorter 

 crest, and is rather smaller than the male. The young are more rufescent 

 and have blackish subterminal bars and pale buff tips to the feathers of the 

 upper parts. After the autumn moult the plumage of the Crested Lark becomes 



* If all the stories respecting the nesting of birds in the Isle of Wight are to be accepted, it must be a 

 very wonderful place ; not only in birds but in insects it is reputed to be exceedingly rich in rarities : I once 

 had a small New Zealand Moth shown to me by a man who assured me that he had caught it near Ventnor. 



